Would you open up your home?

SUNSHINE Coast home owners have been asked to open their homes to domestic violence and abuse victims, as a new charity launches to find emergency rooms for those with nowhere else to go.

SUNSHINE Coast home owners have been asked to open their homes to domestic violence and abuse victims, as a new charity launches to find emergency rooms for those with nowhere else to go.

Safe Haven Community launched on August 30, and calls on Australians to register their spare bedroom as a haven for a woman, man or family fleeing domestic violence or abuse.

Room donors can register their preferences including length of stay and whether they would rather give a temporary home to a man or woman, and whether they can also accommodate children and pets.

Partner services will then refer victims for a room, or victims can refer themselves directly.

Executive director Paul Ferry said it was vital to find rooms in places like the Sunshine Coast, with regional services for domestic violence and abuse victims lacking.

“We don’t want to be just another service that services the city,” he said.

He said homeowners could made an “easy, yet incredibly valuable” contribution as a Safe Haven Community accommodation provider.

“Government-funded and private refuges are all absolutely full, and the waiting lists are full,” Mr Ferry said.

“You can’t get into refuges unless you’ve actually been bashed and beaten and brutalised and you’re high enough up the list in the absolute emergency category.

“What if you’re in danger of violence but they haven’t actually been violent yet? There’s all different types of abuse.”

Denise Hunter founded the organisation after hearing 56,000 calls were being made to Australian domestic violence hotlines every month, but 18,000 of those were going unanswered.

Mr Ferry said the organisation aimed to help stop the cycle of abuse through generations, by giving people with children an escape route from abusive relationships.

“If they don’t get the kids out, they’re going to think this is how relationships look, and 20 years later when they’re in relationships themselves there’s a good chance that will repeat, whether they’re abusing or abused,” Mr Ferry said.

The charity launched on August 30, and Mr Ferry said he was looking to build the service carefully.

The organisation is crowd-funding so it can employ trained, qualified case workers.

Visit www.safehaven community.com.au for more information, to register a room or to donate.

Australia has a critical shortage of suitable and available accommodation for people at risk of domestic abuse or homelessness…

We need your support

We urgently need community support to grow this business

We need to raise $200k to get this business up and running. Your donation will help us to provide 10,000 nights of safe, nurturing accommodation every year to people that desperately need a safe place to breathe.

As a community, we are responsible for making this happen

We are crowdfunding

Help us raise $200k to get this business up and running. We are relying on your donations to make this happen. Please give whatever you can afford.

We need spare rooms

Provide a Safe Haven in your home. Be one of the first 500 Safe Haven Community Accommodation Providers across Australia.